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Bank of Canada apologizes for ‘Asian-looking’ woman debacle

The Bank of Canada apologized Monday for the removal of an image of an “Asian-looking” woman from its design for new $100 bank notes.

The original image intended for the reverse of the new $100 plastic polymer banknotes, which began circulating last November, showed an Asian-looking woman scientist peering into a microscope. (HO / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

By Laura KaneStaff Reporter

Mon., Aug. 20, 2012

The Bank of Canada apologized Monday for the removal of an image of an “Asian-looking” woman from its design for new $100 bank notes.

Governor Mark Carney said in a statement the bank will review the design process that led to the image being removed.

“I apologize to those who were offended — the Bank’s handling of this issue did not meet the standards Canadians justifiably expect of us,” he said.

“Our bank notes belong to all Canadians, and the work we do at the Bank is for all Canadians.”

The bank sparked outrage last week when it was revealed that an image of an Asian woman had been scrubbed from an original design after some focus groups complained.

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Some said the woman did not represent Canada, while others said other ethnic groups should be shown as well.

The groups were held in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Fredericton. Many in Toronto said the image was a symbol of Canadian multiculturalism.

In the end, an image of a Caucasian-looking woman was printed on the notes, which went into circulation last fall.

The Chinese Canadian National Council, who last week decried the move as “racist,” had mixed responses to the apology within their ranks.

Victor Wong, national director of the CCNC, called the apology a “win-win” at a Monday afternoon press conference.

Wong said he spoke to Carney on the phone Monday and offered to help with the review process. He said he is hopeful the bank will change their policy to reflect the diversity of Canada.

“Even if you look at the $5 bill, you have kids playing hockey. You go to any neighbourhood and you’ll see Sikh kids playing hockey,” he said.

But May Lui, director of the CCNC’s Toronto chapter, called Carney’s statement a “non-apology.”

“Saying, ‘I apologize to those who were offended’ is not really an apology,” she said. “There’s a larger systemic issue around how the Bank of Canada imagines who they are portraying as a real or genuine Canadian.”

A spokesperson told The Canadian Press last week the image was removed in favour of a woman of “neutral ethnicity.”

The Bank of Canada said Monday this was not the case. Instead, the woman’s image was changed because of a policy of not representing specific individuals — barring the Queen and politicians — on bank notes.

In Carney’s statement, he said focus groups were shown a photoshopped image featuring an original photograph of an Asian woman looking through a microscope.

Then, artists drew a new rendering that avoided resembling an actual person. This resulted in an image that appears to represent “only one ethnic group,” he said.

A Bank of Canada spokesperson said Carney would not be doing interviews on the subject, saying the statement speaks for itself.

Queens University marketing professor Ken Wong said the Bank of Canada likely removed the image to avoid offending anybody — and wound up doing the opposite.

Some in the focus groups complained the original image invoked stereotypes about Asians in the sciences.

“This is a case of political correctness run amok,” Ken Wong said. “At some point someone said, ‘We can’t risk offending Asians,’ and therefore struck the image.”

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